When Joy Villa showed up to the 2017 Grammy Awards red carpet ready to "Make America Great Again."

When rock singer Joy Villa showed up to the red carpet wearing only a white cape, viewers were curious about what she had on underneath. Villa soon revealed she was wearing a red, white, and blue dress that said "Make America Great Again" along the right side. Then when Villa turned, she showcased her train—which said "TRUMP" in embezzled letters.

When James Corden opened the show by rapping some clever political commentary.

True to form, James Corden (of the viral web series Carpool Karaoke) opened the 2017 Grammy Awards with a clever rap. The host spit some hilarious rhymes—and managed to work in a quick line or two about President Donald Trump. Corden said, "With President Trump we don't know what comes next. We can survive by sticking together."

Though most of the rap featured Corden's classic silly sense of humor, these two lines spoke to a sense of political unity many other artists would encourage throughout the night.

When Jennifer Lopez encouraged everyone to make their voices heard as she presented the first award of the night.

When Lopez took to the stage to announce the winner in the Best New Artist category, she paused for a moment and shared an emotional statement. "I will never forget my first Grammy nomination—or the dress I wore that night," she said. "But, yes, this night is not about dresses—or even the awards. It is about the music, the words, and the voices—how they move us, inspire us, and touch all our lives. At this particular moment in history, our voices are needed more than ever."

Lopez went on to quote Toni Morrison, saying, "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, and no room for fear. We do language. That is how civilizations heal." And the audience responded with a rousing round of applause.

When Paris Jackson talked about an issue close to her heart.

When Paris Jackson—daughter of the late Michael Jackson—headed to the stage to introduce The Weeknd, she was met with enthusiastic applause. She humbly smiled, directing the attention back to an activist effort she cares about.

When Beyoncé discussed the importance of equality in her acceptance speech.

When Beyoncé went to accept an award for her "Formation" video, she spoke on the issue of racial inequality and how it inspires her to make the music she does.

"It's important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty," she said. "So they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror—first through their own families, as well as the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House, and the Grammys—and see themselves and have no doubt that they're beautiful, intelligent, and capable. This is something I want for every child of every race and I feel that it's vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes."

When Katy Perry performed in front of a Constitution-inspired backdrop.

Katy Perry is no stranger to the Grammy Awards stage—and she's no stranger to making a political statement, either. Two years ago, Perry kicked off her set with a video message from Barack Obama about ending violence against women. The year before, she let her performance of her empowering pop anthem "Roar" speak for itself.

And 2017 was no different. Perry took to the stage in a white pantsuit, likely paying homage to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the suffragettes who fought for women's rights before her. The singer also wore a Planned Parenthood pin on her lapel and a "PERSIST" armband. She performed her new single "Chained to the Rhythm" in front of a Constitution-inspired backdrop, which read "We The People" in bold script just above her head.

When Laverne Cox told everyone to #StandWithGavin.

Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox took a moment to recognize an upcoming Supreme Court case before diving into the rest of her speech. Cox openly announced her support for Gavin Grimm, a transgender high school student who is fighting for his right to use the men's restroom at his school.

Cox also plugged the hashtag #StandWithGavin, which social media users can use to support Grimm as he takes his case to the Supreme Court.

When A Tribe Called Quest (and friends) symbolically—and not so symbolically—advocated for immigrants and refugees.

A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) teamed up with Anderson .Paak to honor the late rapper Phife Dawg, who passed away last March at the age of 45. After performing a couple classic ATCQ hits, rappers Consequence and Busta Rhymes took to the stage to join them—and they brought with them a major political message.

As all the rappers gathered to perform "We The People," Busta Rhymes referred to Trump as "President Agent Orange" and protested his "Muslim ban." The rappers then began shouting, "Resist," as they literally kicked down a wall they'd constructed for the performance.

When Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, reminded everyone of the importance of music.

Toward the end of the evening, Recording Academy President Neil Portnow headed to the microphone to remind everyone of the importance of music and unity. Portnow reminded that music is a universal language—the voice of "one people."

Portnow then asked viewers to remind the president and congresspeople to #SupportMusic by protecting intellectual property and making sure artists get paid fair wages for the powerful products they're creating.